Mentor

Too often in my life I have reflected on my relationships with other people without realizing the impact they had on me as a mentor. Neither of us probably even recognized what was happening, yet it was. Other times in my life I totally knew that I was being mentored, or groomed, and how impactful it was to me. I am not sure if I fully paid my respects to my mentors at the time, however I will as of this writing.
What is a mentor? Better yet, who is a mentor?
Mentors come in all shapes and sizes. They appear for different reasons. A good mentor will watch you struggle to help you learn first hand, the lessons they are teaching. Mentors support you in what you are doing, challenge you do it better, and prepare you for the results. Mentors push you through "The Dip". "The Dip" is times where you are struggling and the universe is testing your dedication and passion to what you are doing. A good mentor will not do it for you, however they will hold you accountable and tell you like they see it.
The best mentors are not friends. Friends tend to not tell it like it is. Some friends can pull it off, however most will just say you are doing well. Keep it up. When deep down I am looking for something deeper, something a little more challenging to move my past my DIP. I think of my best mentors and they all have different strengths and they all impacted me in different ways, yet they all challenged me to do it better.
As I write this I am overwhelmed with emotion over all of the mentors that I have had over the years, and the ones that I still have. Truly amazing how they have touched my life. I think one of the reasons is that I listened. I modeled myself after what they taught. Not what they did, what they taught. I believe in them. I trust them. Think of all the different mentors you can have...Health, Family, Spouse, Kids, Business, Personal Development, Sports, Spiritual, Friendship, the list goes on and on. Who do you know that could fill those roles?
Then you have to be careful with what you do about what you are being taught. You still have to be YOU. Don't turn into something you are not. This is very important. Read books, however use them to educate yourself, learn, gain perspective, entertain, don't let them be your only belief system. You must figure out for yourself what works, what does not. What you like, what you dislike. What you are good at, and what you are not good at. Be honest with yourself, and truly evaluate yourself.
The most rewarding thing you can do, in my opinion, is be a mentor for someone else. Not your kids, someone outside your comfort zone where you are challenged to be prepared to make an impact every time to talk. You have to be ready to lead by example, every second of every day. You will have to do your own homework as much as they will have to do theirs. Most of all, you have to be honest with them and hold them accountable.
A person could start with Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Great opportunity to get involved, work with some kids, and mentor them to be more than they think they can be. You could also start by what you do everyday. Some people call that a job, or what ever you call it. Volunteer to mentor someone in what you do. Don't do it for monetary purposes, do it because you have something to give. I've written about passion, what are you passionate about, mentor someone in that area. The list goes on and on.
Find a mentor. Find someone who you feel would be able to provide you with honest advise and feedback. Someone who will challenge you, and hold you accountable. Someone who wants to do it because they want to share their experience and teach others. Someone who will tell you like they see it. You may not know this person yet, however if you ask enough people and put it out there to the universe, your mentor may just find you.
As you read this, if you are a little uncomfortable with the idea of a mentor, then you need one more than ever. As you read this if you don't think you need one, then you most likely need one more than ever. If you already have a good one, keep em!
I owe the thoughts on this topic to my good friend/mentor Chanda! Thanks for holding me accountable!
To your Abundance Attitude,
Steve Aune